Wrench



h i Sept.' 10, 1946. R. E. GEARHART' `2,407,547

WRENCH Filed sept. 16, 1945 BY @/MZ Patented Sept. 10, 1946 WRENCH RoyE. Gearhart, Kansas City, Mo., assigner of three-tenths to Byram L.McCreary and threetenths to Richard B. McCreary, both of Kansas city,Mq.

Application September 16, 1943, Serial No. 502,693

1 Claim. 1

rlhis invention relates to improvements in a wrench and refers morespecifically to a wrench wherein the jaws are constantly urged towardeach other during the nut tightening and releasing operation.

The principal object of this invention is the provision of a wrenchhaving a two piece slidable jaw operatively adjustable to fit varioussizes of nuts and having means to force the jaws toward each other asthe Wrench is operated to set or release a nut.

Another object of the present invention is the provision f a sliding jawwrench having a two piece slidable jaw member said pieces being adaptedto be relatively adjusted to set the jaws to accommodate nuts ofdifferent sizes and also having a lever` whereby said slidable jawmember is moved toward or from a stationary jaw.

A further object of this invention is the provision of a wrench whereinthe force required to loosenl or set a nut is in direct proportion tothe force tending to move the jaws of the wrench toward each other.

A still further object is the provision of a sliding jaw wrench adaptedfor use in releasing and setting nuts 0f various sizes and also for useas a pair of pliers.

Other objects are simplicity and economy of constr-uction, ease andefficiency of operation, and adaptability for general use where it isdesired to prevent scuiiing or disi'lguring of the nuts being operatedon.

Reference will now be had to the drawing wherein,

Fig. 1 is an elevational View partly broken away with parts shown in theclosed position in dotted lines, embodying this invention.

Fig. 2 is an edge view of the wrench shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a sectional View taken on line III- III of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is an end View of the wrench partly broken away.

Fig. 5 is a perspective view of the slide bar.

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of a movable jaw.

Throughout the several views like reference characters refer to similarparts and the numeral 2D designates a head having a fixed jaw 22, andbeing provided with a transverse slot 24 which serves to receive themovable parts. Mounted in head 2t] is a slidable jaw member 26 having ajaw 28, complimenting xed jaw 22 and a reduced transversely disposedbody 3i) which is mounted in the slot 24 to move at right angles to thegripping faces 32 of the jaw so that the jaws are always maintained inparallel relation regardless of their distance apart. A tongue 34 formedin the wall of head 20 is slidably mounted in groove 36 formed in thewall of jaw body 30 to secure the parts in proper alignment. A slide bar33 having ratchet teeth 40 is slidably mounted in head 23 to operativelyengage the ratchet teeth 42 formed in body 39 of the slidable jaw.

The lever 44 pivoted in the head 20 by pin 46 has a tooth bar 38 so thatas said lever is oscillated relativeto head 20 the bar will be movedtransversely of head 2U.

Referring to Figures 1 and 5 it will be noted that the ratchet teeth areso positioned relative to the parts that the teeth will rigidly engagewhen the slidable jaw is moved toward the xed .law so as to exert apressure against the nut being operated on. It will be noted that thereduced end 52 of slide bar 38 rests against the relatively short ledge54 of the head and that the other end 56 extends beyond the head and isprovided with a roughened inclined surface 58 suitable for engagement bythe operators thumb to move this end of the bar away from jaw body 30,

against the action of spring 6I) disposed in recess.

62 between bar 38 and the lug 64 at the side of lever 44. When so forcedoutwardly the teeth in bar 38 will disengage the ratchet 42 on theslidable jaw member so that the slidable jaw member may be adjustedrelative to the xed jaw. The spring 66 is` sufliciently strong tonormally secure the bar and movable jaw in fixed relation, however, whenthe jaws are opened too Wide for the nut, the operator may easily forcethe jaws together to t the nut without moving the lever t4. If desired,the jaws may be moved to contact each other.

A handle 66 integral with head 20 serves as a hand fulcrum to force thejaws to the closed position, especially when the wrench is used aspliers to grip an object.

A plunger 68 slidably mounted in a hole 'l0 formed in head 20 is urgedoutwardly by spring 'l2 against lever i4 so as -to normally hold thelever and handle apart. Spring also functions in like manner to holdthese members apart, but is weaker than spring 12, thus securing thelever against oscillation when the sliding jaw is being ratcheted toposition.

To set this wrench for use .the operator engages the roughened end 58 ofbar 38 and forces the bar against the action of spring 60 to cause aseparation of ratchet teeth 40 and 42 so that the operator may move theslidable jaw to the open position. The jaws are now set about a nut andthe jaw 2B is moved forwardly until it contacts the wall of the nut. Theratchet teeth will automatically secure the jaw member 26 againstoutward movement. With the nut thus positioned between the jaws theoperator forces the lever in the direction indicated by the arrow (seeFig. l). The greater the force applied to the lever 44, the tighter thejaws will clamp the nut.

From the above description it is quite apparent that this wrench isadapted for adjustment to t Various sized nuts and has a jaw movementthat insures a clamping action against the opposite walls of the nut,proportionate to the force required to release or set the nut.

It is quite apparent that many minor changes might be made in thestructure of theparts and also in their relative arrangement withoutdeparting from the spirit of this invention.

What I claim is:

A wrench comprising al head member having a fixed jaw; an angled jawmember slidably'carried by said head member, and having a jawcomplementing said fixed jaw; teeth formed along the inner longitudinaledge of said jaw member; a bar having teeth adapted to operativelyengage the teeth of said jaw member; a handle member pivotally carriedby said head member and operatively connected with said bar and having aside lug adjacent said pivot whereby when said handle is oscillatedrelative to said head member said jaw member will be reciprocated insaid head member; and resilient means positioned between said lug ofsaid pivoted handle and said bar whereby said bar is constantly Iurgedagainst said angled jaw member as said pivotal handle is urged outwardlyto open said ,wrench jaws.

